performers

If you live in a city where street performers rule, you have a golden opportunity to learn, grow, and make money. “Busking” is basically performing on the street for tips. Buskers do all sorts of entertainment, including couples dancing, playing instruments, tap dancing, mime, fire eating, fire breathing, puppetry, story telling, snake charming, juggling, being a living statue, clowning, acting, and even belly dancing. It’s a really challenging way of honing your craft because, although you choose a spot that has high traffic and potentially a good audience, they are not there to see you. They are just passing through. You must have a good hook to get them to stop, watch, and tip. So, you HAVE to be interesting.

Some feel that busking is a form of begging. While there may be some people who are finding creative ways to make a buck, most of the people you see busking consider themselves artists and do it for the love of the crowd, feedback, to be seen, and to get better at what they do.

If you want to try your hand at busking, here are some tips to get you started.

Design Your Act to Be Either Continuous or a Circle

Continuous performances are created for the audience who stops, watches a while, tips and moves on. It doesn’t have a set beginning or end. A circle act is a bit harder in my opinion. If you do a ten minute set, you have to gather a crowd, keep them interested, pass the hat (or somehow indicate that the act is over and it’s time to tip) and then do it all over again. If you don’t have a good barker (think of the person who says, “Step right up!” at the circus freak show) to get people to come over and then encourage tips, you might want to do a continuous performance.

Find a Good Performance Location

You want a location with good foot traffic, but that is quiet enough for you to do your act without distractions. If it’s an area that is known for busking, this is great because some people will come out just for the street performances; however, you don’t want to set up too close to other performers as you don’t want to compete for audience members or tips. If there is no established busking area in your town, start one!

Create a Performance Space

Creating a space is the same thing you do when dancing in a restaurant or other type of establishment with a shared area. You mark your territory in some way that people know that this is the area where you will be dancing. This let’s them know that a show is taking place and to avoid walking through. You can do this with a sign, rug, baskets, or decorated donation containers. You can also use your sound equipment, costuming and props as part of the stage area.

Interact With the Audience

You must talk to people to get them to come over and watch. If you incorporate them into your show, they will be more entertained and are likely to stay longer and tip. Belly dance isn’t always a stage show (and probably shouldn’t be in this environment). Live performances are a great way to improvise and build stage presence.

Ask For Tips

Most people know that street performers accept tips, but if you are after money, ask for it. Build it into the show somehow. If nothing else, ask for tips just before the finale and pass the (figurative or literal) hat. The crowd will want to see your big close so they are more likely to stay and tip.

Get Feedback

Sometimes people will give you unsolicited feedback. That’s great! If they don’t, watch their faces. Pay attention to how long they stay. Notice which parts of the act got more attention than others. If one part drags, fix it. If your tip pitch doesn’t work, try something else. If your music isn’t loud enough, find a different sound system. If acoustics or distractions are a problem, address them. If you need a different pair of shoes to work outdoors, get them. When you are doing live improvisation, there is a whole lot of things that can affect your show. Pay attention to everything and you will be amazed at the feedback you can get to improve. It’s not always just about technique or flash.

I love a good street performance. There is nothing like it for developing talent. The buskers I have seen have been people who obviously love what they do and have a zest for entertaining. If it’s something you want to try, I say, “Go for it!” For more information on busking, go to Busker World.

Katharine Hepburn was right on the money when she said, “What makes you a star is horsepower.” She should know. Her career lasted 60 years and earned her twelve Academy Award nominations and four Oscars for Best Actress. I’d say that Katharine Hepburn had horsepower.

It’s too late to ask her just what she meant by that, but my experience tells me that it means you need consistent effort. Little gains in basic skills, technique, artistry, musicality, stage presence, make-up, power, fitness, and subtlety can make you into the Little Engine That Could.

Think about it. How many dancers do you know who have come and gone? If you’ve been around a while, you will know quite a few. Life happens. I am not saying that that is a bad thing, but if you don’t stick with it, you can’t get very far.

Lack of horsepower also shows up in dancers who don’t evolve or grow. Despite having years invested in the dance, they are just okay. Not everyone wants to be or is meant to be a star. Again, this is not a criticism of anyone. Love of dance is a huge reason to be in it, after all. However, love alone won’t get you to the top. You need diligent effort that is focused on forward movement. We can all learn a lot from people who have achieved greatness in their field, whatever field that may be.

Take it from Katharine Hepburn. Start your engines, keep ‘em running, and move a little further each day. You will soon have horsepower too.

If you look at movies or read biographies based on the lives of famous entertainers, one thing that stands out is that they all are compelled to perform and are true to who they are. Ray Charles was a good performer when he copied other people’s style. People definitely appreciated his talent, but he didn’t become a worldwide sensation until he found his own voice. Johnny Cash didn’t have a shot until he could sing a song in his own way that made him feel something. I could give endless examples of this: Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Gypsy Rose Lee, Michael Jackson, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimmy Hendrix, Janice Joplin, Mozart, Beethoven, Salvatore Dali, Cezanne, Michelangelo, Hemingway, Shakespeare, Martha Graham, Gene Kelly, Charlie Chaplin, Mae West, W.C Fields, Rodney Dangerfield, Jimmy Cagney, Cate Blanchett…. When you look at that list, do you see ANYONE who reminds you of someone else? Or do they stand alone as someone unique? When you hear or see their work, you KNOW it’s theirs and no one else’s.

The only thing I really recommend, if you’re starting out in stand-up is to not try to copy anybody else. You can be influenced by people… but I never tried to be someone else. I always tried to be myself. And the reason people are successful is they’re unique.
Ellen DeGeneres

There are many good performers out there who have a following and work regularly. There is nothing wrong with being good. In fact, that’s where most of us will end up if we work hard enough. However, if you are striving for greatness, you have to learn how to go with your flow. Why do you dance? How do you most like to do it? What moves you? What gets you in the zone where everything is working like magic? What excites you? What are you trying to express? If you can put your finger on that, you have an idea of how to go with your flow.

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~Judy Garland

When you are in the zone, things feel easy. They feel emotionally satisfying. They feel authentic. Some people tend to understand this intuitively and dance improvisationally and in the moment, but this is not enough. You have to have the skills to make it into something that the audience will appreciate too if your goal is to share it with an audience. While some people are famous for being personalities (like Edie Beale of Grey Gardens), most dancers want to be appreciated for more than their personality.
The moral of the story is, practice your skills. Learn how to dance effectively. When you are able to do that, invest in discovering what makes you tick. When you can share THAT with an audience, you are on your way to greatness.

If you are a stage performer, troupe member or member of a theater production, choreography is a MUST! You can’t go out there without it if you want a cohesive, intricate piece that is reproducible and creates a predictable effect over and over again.

Choreography even has its place in the classroom. It gives form to compositions and helps students to see how to put together a piece from start to finish. It gives students a sense of accomplishment (whereas an improvised piece is never truly “done.”) It is handy for teaching how to use elements or for pulling elements out of a whole and putting them elsewhere.

The thing I am arguing against is the over-reliance on choreography as the sole teaching tool or the sole performance method in a venue that doesn’t require choreography. In other words, don’t dance solely with a choreography crutch.

If you can’t improvise, are you truly a dancer? Can a piano player play without sheet music? Can a writer write without instructions? Can a painter paint without directions? Can a sculptor sculpt without a teacher telling him what to do in advance?

What I am trying to say is that art requires some sort of skill development. That skill is both technical and logical. If all you are teaching is choreography, it’s like telling a story and then instructing your students to give it back to you. It does build some skill, but not enough to teach the student how to write independently. If the student can’t write independently, is he truly a writer?

In order to dance improvisationally with skill (because some people can do this spontaneously, but without any skill whatsoever), you have to know how to think and feel. I don’t believe choreography is the best way to teach either of those things, nor does it develop confidence in the ability to be spontaneous, feel, or explore.

Choreography is almost a no-fail way of teaching. Students have to have the room to fail in order to learn to succeed. By learning what doesn’t work, you learn what does. If all you have is choreography, you may have something that works, but you don’t know why, so you can’t really do it again reliably. And what happens when something goes wrong with the choreography? How do you recover?

One of my favorite belly dance stories is about Nagwa Fuad. I heard that she was in the middle of a show when something happened and she lost sound. (Not sure how that could happen with a live band, but anyway…) Being a trooper and believing that the show must go on, the drummer picked up where the band left off. He and she did the first ever live drum solo and it’s been emulated ever since. That moment in history (assuming it really is history) could never have happened had either of them been sheet music reading, choreography dancing performers.

Improv is a necessary skill if you want to be a good dancer. Use choreography when it is required and improv when the venue best suits that. Both will be enhanced if you are good at both.

To learn more about the BDT method of choreography or improvisation, get my book Shake Your Booty. Both methods require a solid knowledge of dance and music basics. Lessons on those topics are also included on that page.

In the old days, belly dance instructors gave their students their dance names. Now days it’s more common for dancers to choose their own stage name. Picking a belly dance stage name is a lot like choosing a business name. If you keep a few things in mind, you should come up with something that you love.

* For name ideas, check out baby name registries. They will usually list where the name is from and what it means. You don’t want to choose something that means “garbage.” (Not that that would happen!)

* Keep your target audience in mind. While you don’t have to restrict yourself to Middle Eastern names, a made up name or a fantasy name works better if you are doing Renaissance faires and that type of thing. If you want to dance for Arabs, it’s better to have an Arab name. If you have a big Turkish population, you might want to consider a Turkish name.

* Before you register your website and print business cards in your new stage name, try the name out for a couple of weeks. Spell it. See if others can pronounce it. You don’t want your announcer mangling your name every time you are introduced. Say it. Does it roll off the tongue? Does it sound like something unpleasant? When you consider that Talibah means “seeker after knowledge” it might be appealing, but one if you are ever introduced as Taliban, you might reconsider. Don’t we all know dancers that were formerly something else? It can get confusing to change a lot. Try it out before you commit.

* It might be a good idea to go with something that is neither very popular nor too obscure. My first dance name was Sheherezade. My teacher gave it to me and I loved it because who doesn’t love Arabian Nights? Everybody, right? Well, everybody had that name. So I changed it to Salome. Same thing. When I was given the name Taaj by a Syrian friend, nobody was using it, so that finally stuck.

* Consider using a variation of your own name. If your name is Mary, you might go with Mariah or Miryam.

* Consider using your given name. You don’t have to have an exotic stage name. Some people prefer to use their own, and that’s just fine. However, keep in mind that one of the reasons for having a stage name is for privacy and security.

When you are born, you are given a name. When you take the stage, you get to choose. Names have power. Choose well.

I think it’s time we had a frank conversation about the Dark Side of belly dance. All of us pay tribute to idea of belly dance as a place of safety, understanding, and belonging. It’s true that it brings women together, overcomes prejudices, and levels the playing field for young, old, thin, fat, and everything in between. The truth of the matter is, there is a dark side too that is only talked about in whispers. Maybe we’re too afraid of looking like we’re not down with the sisterhood code if we acknowledge it, but it’s there.

A real sister is one who will tell it like it is, not stand by pretending that life is roses and shimmies. We all need someone who will honestly tell us, “Girl, you’re crazy is showing” when we need to hear it. We also need real sisters to lean on so that when it’s the other person being crazy, we have the perspective to see things as they are.

So let’s talk about what crazy looks like first so that you know when “It’s not me, it’s you.” If you are doing any of this, it’s you, girlfriend.

Spreading stories about another dancer which are designed to hurt her reputation.

Making people feel uncomfortable if they want to be friendly with someone you don’t like.

Seeing other people’s progress or success as hurting you when in reality, a rising tide lifts all boats.

Sitting out an event because you don’t want to see it succeed, you weren’t given a big enough part, or the greater glory will go to someone else.

Making your students feel that going to someone else’s class or events is “disloyal.”

Losing sleep over what someone else is doing.

Constantly checking facebook and webpage updates to see what someone else is up to.

Planning your wardrobe, appearances, events, or class schedule for the maximum disruption to another dancer’s life.

Talking nonstop about how another dancer wronged you or held you back.

Undercutting to get someone else’s, or perhaps everyone else’s, job.

Choosing no benefit over something that would create mutual benefit.

If you are doing any of these things, it’s time to get a grip. Your crazy really is showing, and trust me when I tell you, anyone who is not drinking Kool-Aid can see it.

The problem is never someone else, and you aren’t going to get rid of the problem by putting someone else down. If you get rid of her, there will always be another cute, fit, young, talented dancer to take her place. Get yourself right and they will never feel like a threat to you.

So, what’s a girl to do when the other person is the bully and you’re the target? My advice is actually the same for you. Get yourself right and it won’t matter what they do. Your self-worth can’t be torn down by the uninformed opinion of someone else if you don’t give them that power. Your SELF-worth comes from you, after all. So claim it. Keep it, and it can never be taken from you.

Lies are a bit harder to overcome. They can have traction if spread with enough momentum and by enough people. However, everything has a way of coming out in the wash. Our work speaks for us. Do good work. Create a track record of good work. Be professional and polite at all times and people who are in touch with themselves will see the disparity and question the truth.

If your friends want to desert you for someone else, wish them well. That’s what a good friend does. She allows her friends to make choices for themselves that will make them happy. It’s okay. Sometimes people need a break. Sometimes we outgrow each other. People who no longer resonate with the same energy will clash anyway. So it’s for the best. The friends may come back or not, but friendship offered with an open hand is the only true kind. If you have to hold on by a leash, it’s not much of a friendship anyway, is it?

Don’t sit around complaining about it. Misery loves company. You can always find a girlfriend or two to cry, bash someone else, and tell you you’re right and the other person is wrong. A real girlfriend will hear you out and then tell you to get off your pity party and look to the future. The past is over. Nothing will change it. When you move forward with joy and anticipation, there is no room in your head or heart for hurt feelings. Have a good cry, then move on.

Whatever you do, don’t join the bully on the Dark Side of belly dance. As Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” Be that light. The community needs more of it.

A real sister acknowledges the human side of everyone and not just the fun, pretty, shiny stuff. What really makes the community a safe place is honesty, integrity, and self-discipline. It is up to each of us to demonstrate and claim that for ourselves. When each of us can be a good sister (by honestly calling our peers on their stuff, giving support, and policing ourselves), we will truly have the sisterhood we all are attracted to. There can be no real sisterhood until we have emotional safety for all, not just a superficial show of solidarity.